French farmers will not be allowed to reintroduce the banned pesticide acetamiprid, a neonicotinoid known to harm bees and biodiversity, after the country’s Constitutional Council struck down the most controversial provision of the Duplomb Law – which had attempted to lift restrictions on the use of certain pesticides, specifically neonicotinoids like acetamiprid. These have been banned in France since 2018 due to their environmental and health risks.
The legislation proposed exceptions allowing French farmers to use acetamiprid to help them compete with European counterparts, as cetamiprid remains legal in the EU until 2033.
But after a public and scientific backlash – over two million people signed petitions demanding the law’s repeal – judges held the ban on acetamiprid, stating that it deprived citizens of “the right to live in a balanced and healthy environment,” a right enshrined in France’s Environmental Charter.
Farmer disappointment
Farmer group FNSEA responded with criticism. Its president Arnaud Rousseau described the ruling as a “pure and simple abandonment of certain sectors of French agriculture,” highlighting that the decision forces farmers to rely increasingly on imports, which they view as damaging to France’s social and environmental standards.
Farmer fury at this law is a symptom of the lack of awareness of alternative solutions to neonicotinoid insecticides, said Sean Smith, CEO of UK-based sustainable biopesticides company Eden Research.
“It’s not surprising to see disappointment with the French Court’s ruling,” he told AgTechNavigator.
“To farmers, acetamiprid is a critical tool to help control crop-destroying sucking pests on their farms. By not using this or a similar product, farmers are putting their crop yield at risk, and, by extension, their livelihoods in the event of significant crop loss.”
Calls on regulators to back alternatives
Though concerns over the potential impact that some conventional pesticides may have on vital pollinators cannot be ignored, he said. “At the end of the day, the farming community’s frustration is borne of a lack of alternative options.”
He repeated his calls on regulators to make more effort to promote these products after removing conventional products that farmers currently rely on.
“Adequate alternative options do exist, and we believe some of the best solutions on the market are to be found within the category of biopesticides that can deliver similar efficacy when compared with conventional counterparts, particularly when used within a programme. Biopesticides can also be better for the environment and human health.”
“In the act of removing harmful pesticides from the market, we encourage regulators to accelerate their efforts to authorise safer, more sustainable alternative solutions in their place to ensure wildlife, farmers, and consumers all benefit equally.”
